Iron Man 2
might not have been everything Iron Man 1
was, but it had something (at least as far as this viewer was
concerned) that its predecessor did not - a great villain. Whiplash, as
played by Mickey Rourke, made for a visually, if not grammatically,
interesting character. With Hot Toys working the Iron Man movie license
for all it's worth, there's no surprise that they've released Whiplash
in their sixth scale series.

With War Machine, several more
versions of Iron Man, and Black Widow all on the way, this license may
prove to be THE series for Hot Toys, covering more ground than we've
seen with any other series. It seems obvious that they'd pick up the
Avengers, Captain America and Thor licenses, giving us a very cool set
of movie Marvel figures for the shelf.

You can pick up this guy
for around $160 or so, depending on the retailer. He just started
shipping internationally, so the US distributors won't have them quite
yet.

Packaging - ***1/2
Great graphics, completely collector friendly, with a bright, shiny
outer sleeve to top things all off. I'm almost always happy
with
the Hot Toys packaging, but my only complaint this time 'round is the
ONE twisty tie holding him in the tray.

Sculpting - ***1/2
If you're looking for realistic portraits, you won't find anything
better than the work being produced by Hot Toys these days. Once again,
this small head sculpt looks just like an actual person, shrunk down to
sixth scale.

However,
I'm not sure that this is the best Rourke they could have produced.
Part of the problem is that they continue to raise the bar, setting
expectations higher and higher even for themselves. It's good, don't
get me wrong, but there's something slightly off about the eyes.

If
I were comparing this to past work, I'd say it falls above the usual
Tony Stark work, but below the recent T-800 or Aldo Raine.

The sculpted gripping hands work
pretty well, or you can go sans whips and stick with the fists.

Paint - ****
The production paint work is outstanding as always. The hair has a nice
mix of gray and black, with a perfect hairline. The eyebrows, mustache
and beard really show off the realistic nature of their work, and even
the skin tone looks amazing. The figure looks like a real person, even
with close up photography.

This
figure has more paint work than the usual however, because of the many
body tattoos that Rourke sported in the film. From the belly to the
back to the shoulders to the hands, the tat work is gorgeous. It's even
slightly faded in color, as though the ink work is older. It's this
sort of attention to detail that continues to set Hot Toys apart.

With
all that great work on the body, it would be easy to overlook the
colors on the various metallic parts of the harness, but don't. They've
highlighted the amazing sculpt detail of the mechanics with precision
paint work, further adding to the overall realism.

Articulation - ***1/2
Whipster is on the usual TrueType body, muscle version. The upper body
is a bit restricted, particularly the elbows, but you have to be
willing to sacrifice a little mobility for the cool harness.

The
neck works well this time around, much better than it did for me on the
T-800. It's a similar design, with two joints, one at the top and
bottom of the neck.

From the waist down, I had some
issues that I
almost never see with the TrueType - floppy joints. The knees and the
ankles are looser than I'm accustomed to with this body, but I was able
to get him to stand fine on his own with shallower stances.

The
hands also pop off quite easily, due to the short wrist pegs and tight
fit of the harness at the wrist. It wasn't a huge deal at first, but it
does tend to annoy you after awhile.

Accessories - ***
Hot Toys has spoiled us with the level of accessories they've
been
including with recent releases. Since most of Whiplash's outfit is
attached, there's not much extra included.

There's the usual display stand
of course, and you may end up needing it depending on how well these
ankles and knees hold out.

There's also an extra set of
hands, done up as fists, in case you don't want to display him with the
'whips'.

The
whips are really two pieces each - a floppy whip, and an electro-spark
that wraps around the whip, done up in translucent plastic.

The
whip can be posed because of a thin metal rod along one side that is
both decorative and functional. It takes a bit of effort to get the
faux electricity to lay along the whip just right, but after you play
with it for awhile you'll get it in a place that looks good.

The
handles attach to the rest of his gear by way of the two small tubes
running in back of his arms. These slip into the handles quite easily,
and look great, but the light feature does not extend to the whips.

Outfit - ****
Here's where this figure really shines. The outfit is fantastic, with
an amazing amount of detail in the harness.

While
I mentioned that the harness restricts the articulation a bit, it still
is quite an engineering marvel. The shoulders can take quite a few
poses, and even the elbows can bend a bit. Don't over do it, though, as
the harness can snap.

The harness has flaps that move
in back, as
well as hoses, wires, buckles, straps, etc. etc. etc. It fits over the
torso snugly, and holds its own next to the higher tech Iron Man suits.

I do have to admit that I'm not
sure what the 'knee pads' are for, but hey - they look cool.

The
coveralls are burned and torn free of his upper body, with the strips
hanging down around his waist. They used one of these strips to hide
the battery compartment and switch for the light feature. The lower
pants look good, and the boots are sculpted open, with the tongues
hanging out.

However,
they aren't the right color (thanks to readers more observant than I
for pointing that out). On screen, they were orange, while here they
are brown. Hot Toys has said that this has to do with legal issues -
perhaps the Grand Prix folks had something to say about it?

Light Feature - ***
The light up feature is accomplished with a small battery compartment
(with switch) that hooks onto his belt in back and is hidden by the
burned and torn clothing. You have to pop the battery in, and you'll
need a very tiny Phillips screwdriver to open the compartment, but once
it's in place, you'll have a strong light at the chest, with slightly
weaker light running up the blue rubes in back. It works well, but it's
not quite as impressive as some of the previous figures.

Fun Factor - ***
While none of the Hot Toys figures could be considered 'toys' (and the
irony is not lost on me), these still carry the DNA of their ancestors,
the G.I. Joes and other sixth scale figures of the 60's and 70's. For
anyone capable of handling the figures with care, there's plenty of
potential in posing them and displaying them.

Value - **
Without the additional accessories, it's tough to call these worth more
than the usual $150 or so that's the normal Hot Toys rate. Then again,
perhaps they are merely making it tough to follow up some of their own
recent releases.

Things to Watch Out For -
The screw used to hold the battery compartment closed is VERY tiny.
Work on it in a location where dropping it won't mean disaster.

Overall - ***1/2
While I had a few minor issues with the figure overall, the harness and
outfit is simply amazing. With all the Iron Man suits on the shelf, the
display can get a smidge...redundant. This figure really stands out,
and is our first villain in the line.

After
messing with it for awhile, my biggest issue ended up being the floppy
ankles and knees. Posing him got to be more annoying than fun, and I
suspect I'll end up with the sturdiest stance I can find, and sticking
with that on the shelf.